{"id":3203,"date":"2014-07-03T18:54:26","date_gmt":"2014-07-03T18:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=3203"},"modified":"2014-07-03T18:54:26","modified_gmt":"2014-07-03T18:54:26","slug":"charles-w-morgan-in-fine-sailing-trim-in-new-bedford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=3203","title":{"rendered":"Charles W. Morgan, in fine sailing trim in New Bedford"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Thursday and I am back home after a short trip to New Bedford MA for a few days. \u00a0My friend Burt and I sailed Pandora from the CT River to Stonington and then on to New Bedford.<\/p>\n

Happily, we were able to sail much of the way with good winds and covered a lot of distance in just a few days. \u00a0 Interestingly, as we passed Newport RI, home to lots of mega-yachts, we were passed by the yacht Marie, a 181′ Vitters built beauty, on her way to Booth Bay Maine. \u00a0 Vitters builds world class megayachts and mega,mega yachts. \u00a0Check out their site<\/a> for a “sight” of some of their projects. \u00a0 These yachts are “toys for really big boys”. \u00a0I know this boat through Dr. Bosarge, the guy who I wrote about in my blog last summer. \u00a0And it was that post that led to our being invited to his Bahamas island, Over Yonder Cay.<\/p>\n

It seems that Brenda and I will be sailing on the yacht Marie this summer as we have been invited to sail on Marie and visit Dr. Bosarge’s home in Booth Bay. \u00a0Now, that should be a fun time. He wasn’t at Over Yonder Cay when we visited there so it will be fun to actually meet him in person.<\/p>\n

Here’s link to a series of photos of Marie<\/a>. \u00a0What a boat.<\/p>\n

Speaking of sailing yachts, we left Stonington CT at 05:30 on Sunday with very light wind and as we headed east toward \u00a0New Bedford, we spied this lovely schooner. \u00a0She was, no doubt, headed home from the Wooden Boat Show that had been held in Mystic Seaport over the prior weekend. \u00a0Very pretty lines.\u00a0\"\"<\/a>Seeing her was getting me in the mood for seeing the Morgan in New Bedford, following her refit at the seaport.<\/p>\n

So, as we headed east the wind piped up and as we entered Buzzard’s Bay and were into the final stretch, the wind was gusting into the low 20s. \u00a0It was a brisk ride. \u00a0Along the way we ended up sailing on company with an Oyster 59, a much bigger boat than Pandora. \u00a0I was thrilled that she wasn’t able to pass Pandora in spite of being a dozen feet longer. \u00a0 No, it wasn’t a “race” but any time two or more sailboats are near each other, IT’S A RACE. \u00a0You know how it goes, try to make the boat go as fast as possible while looking like you aren’t trying at all. \u00a0“Oh, that boat. \u00a0I didn’t see her…”<\/p>\n

Anyway, we made covered over 50 miles under sail on our way from Stonington to New Bedford at a nice clip and picked my friend Patty’s mooring for our visit. \u00a0 The next day we headed ashore to see the Charles W. Morgan, who had her “homecoming” to the harbor for the first time since she was an active whaling ship a century ago.<\/p>\n

New Bedford harbor is an amazing place with what seems like hundreds of fishing boats tied up at docks in every corner of the harbor. \u00a0 \u00a0This shot, from on top of the Whaling Museum, gives you a good feeling for how many there are. You can see the lightship Nantucket, in her distinctive red paint, \u00a0in the distance. \u00a0 \u00a0\"\"<\/a>The Nantucket, has been around since the 50s and was only retired by the coast guard from her station off of Nantucket, in the mid 80s. \u00a0She was anchored off of the SE corner of Nantucket for many years warning ships of the shoaling waters that run 30 miles out to sea that have claimed hundreds of ships over the years. \u00a0 And, about the Nantucket, if you have an hankering to have a lightship of your own, she’s been recently refitted as a yacht and is for sale.<\/p>\n

As if that’s not enough, you’ll never have a problem finding a place to drop the hook as she carries her own 7,000 lb mooring on her bow. How about that for self sufficiency? \u00a0And to be sure you are seen, there’s even a locomotive headlight on her bow. Who needs AIS, or radar for that matter, when you have a gazillion candlepower light to let everyone know where you are.<\/p>\n

Interested? \u00a0Check out the for sale\u00a0listing here<\/a>. \u00a0She’s clearly a show stopper. I wonder what sort of mileage she gets. Brenda always says that her favorite part of boating is being anchored. Perhaps Nantucket would be the perfect boat for her. \u00a0 Looking pretty smart in this “glamour shot”. \u00a0 \"\"<\/a>The interior isn’t too shabby either. \u00a0\"\"<\/a>Setting aside the Nantucket, everywhere you look there are fishing boats. \u00a0I’d think that it has to be tough to make a living when your boat is tied up at the dock. \u00a0With the restrictive quotas imposed on fishing boats these days, It must be a very difficult way to make a living. \u00a0And, as my grandfather used to say “you can’t catch fish when you’re lure isn’t in the water”. \u00a0Or, perhaps more to the point, “you can’t catch fish if you aren’t fishing”, and given the number of boats in the harbor, they aren’t catching many fish right now. \u00a0 In spite of this New Bedford still lands more seafood in total dollars than any other port in the US. \u00a0It seems that the success of the scallop fishery is one of the reasons that New Bedford is on top as a fishing port.<\/p>\n

Here’s a tour of a modern scallop dragger. \u00a0What a machine. \u00a0